Current state, issues and perspectives of construction waste recycling in Ukraine

Abstract

The article analyzes the problem of construction and demolition waste disposal in Ukraine, which is especially relevant due to the increasing number of housing renovation projects and the intensification of national construction projects. Construction waste accounts for almost a third of the waste generated in most developed countries. The most efficient disposal method is recycling, i.e. recycling of secondary building resources (SBR). However, the share of recycled construction waste in Ukraine lags far behind developed countries (it is about 6% of its total volume). The high level of waste generation and low rates of its use as secondary raw materials (SRM) have led to the fact that a significant amount of solid waste accumulates annually in the industrial and civil sectors of Ukraine, only a small part of which is used as SRM, the rest ends up in landfills. The difference between waste management in Ukraine, compared with other developed countries, is in the large volumes of waste generation and the lack of infrastructure to recycle it. The issues of the environmental impact of construction waste are considered, and the main cost-effective technologies for processing SBR are identified and considered in this research. With the help of market mechanisms and government regulations, these technologies may become promising for investment and their development will be beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses. Perspective areas of construction waste recycling in order to obtain demanded products are presented; existing advantages and technologies of processing SRM are also considered: solid waste processing, biothermal composting, wood waste processing, recycling of construction waste and metallurgical slag, etc.